by John W. Olson | Mar 11, 2014 | Landscape Architecture, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Everyone likes a great park. Parks, like the remainder of the built environment, range by how they are experienced and how they function. The classification of parks has been something that I have been thinking about over the past few years, and especially over this...
by John W. Olson | Oct 1, 2013 | Landscape Architecture, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design
Recently I was honored to have been asked to provide a rendering for Bancroft Park as a visual aid to raise money for the improvements to the park. It was used for the Taste of OCC in April, 2013 and again this past weekend for the first “Harvest in the...
by John W. Olson | Aug 18, 2013 | Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
In the past year, my Collaborative Design Group colleague, Mark Tremmel, and I have given multiple presentations on Gold Hill Mesa. In this time, we have started what has turned into somewhat of a routine as a part of the presentation. The bit starts in the middle of...
by John W. Olson | Feb 16, 2013 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
An interesting question that I believe requires exploration in towns and cities is in the priority of level of service. Level of Service (LOS) is a term used to describe the quantity of congestion and velocities for any given street. Letter grades are given for each...
by John W. Olson | Dec 22, 2012 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Landscape Architecture, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Okay, so I have assembled the following quote based upon comments that I hear about Downtown Colorado Springs often. I wish that no one actually says such things, but it is said because it is the simple band-aid to temporarily make a problem go away. We need to stop...
by John W. Olson | Nov 27, 2012 | Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Better Block Pikes Peak was held in Downtown Colorado Springs over a 24-hour period, September 21-22, 2012. Better Block was put forth by a grassroots all-star team referred to as Colorado Springs Urban Intervention (CSUI). CSUI was a fund through the Colorado Springs...